Highschool of the Dead (Volume 2) – The Manga

The zombie apocalypse continues in volume 2. If you want my advice, you’ve got to check out the full-colour edition. It’s beautiful!

What did you read? I just finished volume two of the Highschool of the Dead manga, basking in the beautiful colour images of my hardback book one. I do enjoy my manga in black and white, but there is something special about this edition.

What Happened? Volume two contains four acts, unlike volume one which only had three. It also translated into episodes four to seven of the anime. It begins with Rei and Takashi riding around the city on their stolen motorbike. They witness the devastation that’s befallen the city in the short time since the outbreak began.

While this is going on, the rest of the group decide to abandon the bus, Including Shidou and his followers, much to his annoyance. Not long after leaving the bus, they bump into Rei and Takashi walking along the street.

With night approaching and the bridges locked down, Marikawa suggests they stay at her friend’s apartment. They agree and fight their way inside, rewarding themselves with some rest and relaxation.

The events on the bridge get out of control and the zombies flood back into the city. Takashi can only watch as the nightmarish attacks continue in the streets below. Then they spot a little girl and decide to help.

How was it different from the anime? Like the last volume, there were a number of very small differences that helped to expand on what we know and see. For example, in the anime, it’s fairly obvious that Rei and Marikawa had a drink around the bathroom scene, but it’s never confirmed. In the manga, Rei admits it.

Back to the bathroom scene. I said the fan-service wasn’t as prevalent in the manga, and it’s still not, but the bathroom scene was far more detailed, revealing more than just skin and Marikawa’s giant boobs.

Also, one of my favourite scenes from the anime, the one where Takashi and Rei jump onto a bridge to join the fight against the zombies didn’t happen. They just bumped into the others on the street. The scene with Saeko on top of the Humvee, however, did happen and it was glorious.

What was your favourite thing? One of my favourite things with the collections are all the extra images that come with it. There are several giant double page spreads between each volume and lots of sketches and notes from the author and artist.

What was your least favourite thing? Again, it was the action and intensity that the anime brings. I’ve seen amazing action done in manga so I know it’s possible, but this is definitely an area the anime did better.

Are you ready for more? I just looked through the collection of double page images and found myself staring at page one of act eight. Then I quickly closed the book to save it for tomorrow and write this while it’s fresh in my mind.

Yeah, there are seven volumes of the standard black and white manga. I have the first two, but then I discovered the two colour editions that bundled the all together. At some point, I’ll get the remaining regular ones too. There’s also one act that is only available as a digital download which would have been the first act of volume eight.